For Love of Team and Country
by SophieSaulie
Summary: A tag to Deep Cover Band. Billy doesn't realize he's been hurt and a bit of his past is revealed by Michael.


**For Love of Team and Country**

**A tag to Deep Cover Band**

The concussive force of the blast had Casey's signature all over it. Why do it at all if you can't overdo it, right? Billy thought to himself. Admittedly, he had been relieved for the distraction. Though he had prided himself for having the gift of gab, he had been running out of colorful descriptors for begging to be tortured over being shot outright.

Billy truly loved his work. He relished the pursuit and capture of tyrannists and terrorists alike using his talent for verbal deception and, with the others, physical subjugation. He had taken a personal interest in their young operative-in-training and protege, Rick Martinez, whose wide-eyed patriotism sparked memories of his own naive beginnings for doing the work, at one time for Queen and country and now for his adopted one. He also saw in Rick the potential of immersing oneself so completely in the work by virtue of youthful exhuberance that life outside of the work disappeared until you realized just how much time you had lost. Love was always the first casualty so as Billy cajoled Rick, encouraging his romance with Adele, he found himself regretting his own lost opportunities. He wanted to make sure to give Rick the benefit of his own experience by imparting advice, solicited or not, to him so that he wouldn't look back and have the same regrets as he had.

Billy had also given his share of bodily sacrifice and though it came with the job, as Casey is so want to do so willingly, Billy considered himself more of a lover not a bleeder so as the explosion ripped through the walls, all he could think about was whether this time he had finally cashed in alll the chips he had acquired over the span of his career.

He felt the pain of shrapnel dig into his flesh, but he couldn't figure out where it hurt most. He found himself falling to the ground, his arms positioned to protect his greatest assets to the team, his charm and good looks. When he finally did hit the ground, he caught a glimpse of the gigantic hole left by the explosives. He then heard his name being called out in the haze of the dust.

"Billy!" Rick called.

"Billy!" Casey echoed after him.

Ah, Casey and his young learner.

"Here!" He called out to them, but as he moved to extricate himself from the mounds of debris, a sharp stabbing knit of pain hit him on this left side.

He grimaced as he grabbed it instinctively. He felt the familair sticky wetness of bleeding.

"Bugger," he said under his breath.

He hissed and bit back a grunt. He forced his mind to contain the pain. One thing you learned quickly as an operative, you swallowed anything that could compromise a mission. He couldn't let it slow him down and by default his team. He pulled himself up onto his feet, more blinding pain hitting him. He straightened himself up and doing what he did best, masked his own discomfort to move him and his friends out of harm's way.

"You okay?" Rick asked.

"Yeh, the sooner we're out of here, the better I'll like it," Billy teased then turned to Casey. "What took you so long?"

As they started to walk out, Billy had to lean against some of the rubble and doubled over with pain. Rick got to him first.

"Billy? You sure you're okay?" Rick asked again as he supported Billy up.

"I think a trip to the hospital might be in order," Billy said as he stooped over with pain again. "I think that right bastard Voight managed to get a shot off plus I think Casey's entrance shook things up a bit."

"It was an improvised explosion," Casey explained. "Do you know how hard it is to control and predict under last minute conditions?"

"Not casting any aspersions, mate, believe me, I'm grateful for the rescue -"

The pain intensified and cut Billy off mid-sentence with a grunt.

Casey propped Billy up opposite Rick and they guided him out. Michael was waiting as he watched Voight and his men get arrested by the German authorities. When he saw Billy in pain, he rushed over.

"What happened?"

"Voight got a shot off before we got through," Rick said.

Michael turned to glare at Voight, barely contained rage being capped by training and conditioning.

"He needs to get to a hospital," Rick said.

Michael refocused his attention back to his team and his injured friend. He turned to the German Commander.

"We need to get my partner to a hospital NOW! We're taking that car and I want you to provide an escort."

The Commander nodded his cooperation as he barked orders to his men. Casey and Rick helped Billy into the car. Billy stiffened and grunted. Casey observed Billy's wound and the blood loss concerned him. He took his jacket off before entering the car. He placed it on the wound and pressed it into place firmly. Billy arched back into the seat and groaned.

"Are you trying to kill me, mate?" Billy hissed.

"I don't like the way you're bleeding," Casey said, concern in his usually neutral tone of voice.

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm not so crazy about it either," Billy joked.

"Keep the pressure on it," Casey directed Rick.

Rick nodded and tried to staunch the bleeding as best as he could, while also trying to keep from causing more pain to his friend. Billy flinched at the pressure applied.

"Sorry," he apologized, a look of fear and apprehension on his face.

"S'all right," Billy consoled, understanding that Rick wasn't experienced with such things despite his own brush months ago.

Rick had almost died and Billy had remembered how he had felt. He had seen his share of death as an agent, had lost friends and colleagues alike so you'd think that with all of that experience, he would have been hardened, death was, after all, a part of the job, the accepted risk you signed up for when you became an operative, but Rick was still a young man, his whole life ahead of him so seeing him bleeding, ostensibly bleeding slowly out, helpless to do anything other than apply basic first aid and humorous distraction, reminded Billy about how fragile life could be and how swiftly it could be snuffed out in their line of work. All he had wanted to do then was to give Rick as much time as was within his control to give him. So now, with the tables turned, he wanted Rick to know that he had trusted him with his care as well as alleviate his apprehension.

"Consider it your opportunity to get even with me for putting you through the same thing, aye?" Billy joked, a grimaced smile on his face.

Rick smiled. Leave it to Billy for putting a humorous spin on a grim situation, he thought. It hadn't gone unappreciated. Rick had observed how this team worked together and it had impressed him. Unconventional, absolutely, but the bond of trust they had developed with each other in an organization where trust was both necessary as well as hard to come by, was unbreakable. He had hoped that he had earned that trust because he had already committed his without reservation. Billy seemed the most reticent about revealing his true nature particularly his past and yet he had acted on more than one occasion as the most readily available to give comfort and reassurance, a dollop of humor along with it for added defensive effect.

Michael climbed into the lead car and Casey shotgun in the car with Billy and Rick. The cars took off, sirens blaring.

"You're gonna be okay," Rick said, the conviction in his voice shaky.

Billy saw the worry on his friend's face. Unlike himself and the others, Rick displayed more of his heart on his sleeve, sincerity and the desire to help evident in his words and actions towards assets and victims alike. Hardly qualities that CIA agents were known for and Billy found it a bit refreshing. That empathy often got Rick into trouble and had irked Higgins no end, the latter Billy enjoyed watching, but he liked being reminded that the spy business didn't have to be all business as sometimes Michael tended to approach the work.

"It's just a flesh wound. Believe me, I've had worse," Billy said truthfully.

Rick looked for warning signs in Billy's expression and posture. He knew that Billy was struggling to control the pain. He didn't have those morphine lollipops to give him as they had done for him. Rick noticed him gripping the armrest, his knuckles white and his hand trembling from the strain. He wanted to say something to comfort, but it was clear that Billy had possessed that talent.

"So, tell me, how are things progressing with our fetching Deputy Director?" Billy queried as much to occupy his mind as Rick's.

"What? Uh, what?" Rick asked, caught off guard.

"Don't be coy now. You work at the CIA. Discretion is an oxymoron."

"Fine. It's going fine," Rick evaded.

"Well, for her sake, I hope it's going a lot better than just fine. I mean I admire your fortitude. A woman in the position of power such as she is in, in an organization where the very foundation is based on deception and subterfuge, gaining her trust would have inherent built-in security measures in place. Wooing her would be a full time occupation onto itself."

"Yeh, well, I think I'm the oxymoron. She already thinks I'm a freak of nature."

"Ah, so you have her intrigued. Good. I imagine she can't conceive of the paradox you present to her. You can work that to your advantage."

"I don't want to work anything. This is who I am. I have no other agenda other than serving my country to the best of my ability."

Billy gave him a quizzical look.

"A patriot of your calling, let alone in the CIA, just doesn't track."

"Are you telling me that you're doing this, getting shot, for something other than patriotism? All of you have so much as told me that it's not for the credit or the glory."

Billy paused as he turned away, clenching his body as waves of pain assaulted him. He groaned. Finally, it passed enough for Billy to talk.

"One day I'll regale you with why I do this job."

Rick noticed that Casey's jacket was getting heavier and wetter and he knew that Billy's situation was deteriorating fast. His breathing was getting shallower.

"Casey, do you know how far out we are?" Rick asked.

"What's our ETA, Michael?" Casey called on his mobile.

"We're five minutes out," Michael answered back.

"Hang on, Billy, we're almost there," Rick reported.

Billy nodded. He was feeling exhausted and dizzy.

"Take some advice from someone who's lost more than his share of opportunities, if it's worth having, don't let it slip through your fingers."

He then went limp in the seat.

"Billy? Billy!" Rick tried to coax gently, but without result.

**ChaosChaosChaos**

Billy had been wheeled into the ER, semi-conscious and still in pain. The doctors huddled around him and furiously worked to assess his condition to apply the necesaary life saving measures as quickly as possible.

Rick, Michael and Casey watched in rapt concern. Rick, especially, found himself unable to tear his gaze away from the activities. He saw Casey's jacket, drenched with Billy's blood thrown on the floor. He heard the barrage of questions being thrown at Billy, asking him where the pain was, how bad it was on a scale of 1 to 10. He heard Billy moan each time they poked and prodded, his resistance to the pain gone.

"He'll be all right," Michael assured. "We've gone through much worse. He's...gone through much worse."

Rick caught an exchange of looks between Michael and Casey. There was pain and regret between them as if they were sharing a collective memory telepathically. When they noticed Rick looking at them, Michael turned away as if trying to decide whether to reveal something to him.

"There was a mission a few years back. The asset turned out to be bait for a trap. We were ambushed...the asset killled. Everything that could have possibly have gone wrong, did. We, Casey and I, were caught in the crossfire...I told Billy to get out, but he wouldn't leave us behind. He didn't wait for backup. He just ran in, guns blazing."

Michael took in a breath.

"He got hit...but wouldn't go down until he got us out. He had arrested twice, was in a coma for a month. I thought for sure that we'd be adding his star on the wall, but I underestimated that stubborn Scottish will of his. Won't do that ever again. So that's how I know he's gonna make it."

Rick nodded.

"If you learn nothing else from us, Martinez, learn that we take what we do beyond what the CIA expects from us and Billy...putting up a facade of superficiality is exactly the way he wants to be perceived. It makes people underestimate him. He has never done the job for the glory. I learned that that day. He does it because he cares about the people."

Michael then walked away to get a breath of fresh air.

Casey patted Rick on the shoulder.

"What happened to Billy that day almost broke Michael. He almost hung it up because he blamed himself. He thought he should have seen the betrayal, but sometimes you just don't. In the end, we're only human. All you can do is your best. If someone has your back, then the rest is faith. I don't ascribe to that philosophy myself, but then again, I don't have to."

Casey then joined Michael, but Rick couldn't leave Billy alone. Billy hadn't when he had needed him. He needed to return the favor.

_Flashback_

_Bullets were flying everywhere. Michael, Casey and Billy had been separated when the gunfire had begun. The asset was dead, lying in a pool of blood. It had been a trap. They used the weapons they had to whittle down the numbers, but Michael and Casey had gone empty and were pinned down. Billy had been judicious with his ammunition, but even he had a limited supply. He scanned the area and began moving from point to point to get closer and to get within point blank range. Michael watched his friend moving strategically across the room to save them and he found his frustration building. He wanted Billy to get to safety. He had the best shot where he was located, but instead, Billy was heading towards the line of fire._

"_Billy! Get out of here!" He yelled, but only saw concentration on Billy's face._

_Billy traversed his way towards them, keeping a steady focus on getting to his friends. When he could get no closer, he braced himself against a wall. He took in a breath. His only option was to go in guns blazing. He checked his gun then cocked it. He had a full clip and one left in his pocket. He surveyed the area one last time to pinpoint as best as he could where the shooters were. He had to maximize the spray of his fire to take out as many as he could. From his count, there were five of them. He took in one more breath then leaped from his location and started shooting. _

_Michael saw what he was going to do and the horror on his face brought a cold shiver to Casey who never felt such things, but then again, it was usually him leaping into harm's way, not someone he had learned to trust with his life._

"_Billy! Don't!" Michael yelled._

_Billy's face was stern with single-minded determination, undeterred by the fact that he was outnumbered. His friends were in trouble and he wasn't going to leave them behind. It wasn't in him to do that. He shot continuously, but not wildly. He caught one shooter by surprise. One down. Four to go._

_Michael and Casey watched helplessly as Billy kept shooting and ducking when there was something to duck behind. Just as he was about to reach them, taking out two more shooters in the process, he got hit in the shoulder by one bullet then in the other by another. It barely slowed him down, but Michael saw the pain on his face. Billy's clip went empty, but he quickly ejected it with one quick flick. He ducked again, reached into his pocket and reloaded with the last clip. He cocked his gun again and took advantage of the fact that adrenaline was pumping through him and was allowing him to ignore the white fire hot pain in both of his shoulders._

"_Stay down, Billy!" Casey yelled this time, but to no avail. _

_Casey saw that Billy had reloaded. He knew that he was down to his last few bullets. He tracked Billy's path towards them and readied himself. Michael noticed._

"_What are you doing?"_

_"Billy is down to his last clip. I know what he's doing. He's drawing their fire, distracting them from us. If he gets them closer by a few more feet, I can tackle one of them and get his gun."_

"_No, it's too risky."_

"_Right now, risky is the only option we have."_

_Billy gritted through the pain as he felt every pull of the trigger ripple pain up to his shoulder. He looked over at Michael and Casey and detected a nod from Casey. He understood what Billy was trying to do. Knowing that only emboldened Billy and as thoughts of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid entered into his head, he got up from his crouched position and began firing towards the last two shooters. _

_He felt one bullet hit him somewhere in the chest and another one in his leg. He felt himself going down. He spotted Casey bearing down on one of the shooters. He had one last feat to perform and that was to take down the other shooter to keep Casey safe. He landed on his good knee, stiffened to brace himself as much as he could on the leg and shot his last bullets into that shooter. The last thing he saw before going completely down was Casey pinning the other shooter, disarming him and then knocking him into unconsciousness. Billy couldn't help but smile._

_Michael and Casey ran over to Billy.  
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"_I need assistance at my location! Get EMS down here! We have a man down!" Michael yelled into his mobile._

_He then leaned down to assess Billy's injuries. Casey did too. To Michael, all he could see was blood everywhere. _

"_Hang on, Billy. Help is coming," Michael tried to assure the best way that he could._

_Billy convulsed with pain, no longer possessing the adrenaline to keep it at bay. He saw Michael's face filled with a mournful regret._

"_My choice…don't have any regrets…" Billy shuddered with pain._

_Billy started to wheeze and moan. He clenched his eyes closed as he tried to catch his breath._

_"Stick with me, Billy."_

_EMS finally arrived on scene and Michael stepped away so that they could work on him. The paramedics hooked him up to the EKG machine and put an oxygen mask on him. Billy's breathing then got more erratic and his heart rate did too. Billy searched for and made eye contact with Michael. He winked at him, which made Michael believe Billy was signaling him that everything was going to be okay, that he was going to be okay, but his eyes rolled back and his lids closed. The heart monitor then squealed a high pitch as it went flat line._

_"Billy? Billy? Don't do this, you hear me?" Michael screamed in desperation. "YOU HEAR ME? DON'T YOU DO THIS!"_

_The paramedics worked furiously as they set up the defibrillator and shocked Billy._

_"CLEAR!" _

_Flatline._

_"CLEAR!"_

_Flatline._

_Michael was transfixed watching the monitor, waiting, watching, willing it to beep but only seeing a straight line._

_"Come on, come on, come on," Michael uttered under his breath._

_Casey could only watch silently, never feeling as afraid and as out of control as he had felt at that moment. _

_"CLEAR!"_

_Blip, blip, blip, blip._

_Relief filled the room and Michael felt like his knees were going to buckle beneath him. Instead, he sat onto the floor exhausted._

**ChaosChaosChaos**

Billy had been taken into surgery to remove the bullet. It had nicked the bowel, but other than that, things looked good. The operation had gone well and he was resting in recovery. The only concern was infection.

Rick had remembered what Gallo had said about how they all give up everything for the job. No family, no one to come home to and it had made him think. Who did any of them have, other than each other, if they got hurt or worse, died in the field? It shouldn't matter, but it did for Rick. Seeing Billy wounded and in pain, it had made him wonder who would be there for him? Who would mourn for any of them when they were gone? He didn't want Billy to wake up alone, thinking that all he had done was take a bullet for the job even though being a seasoned operative, Rick knew that Billy had come to terms with dying alone if not being necessarily at peace with it. After all, it had been him who had told him at the Rathskellar:

"_Gallo's not wrong. Men like you and I aren't destined for the happily ever after. If you have it, don't squander it."_

Billy cared about his relationship with Adele, that it wouldn't be bargained away for ambition or for prestige, again because of the job. He had been touched by Billy's sentiment and wondered if he had lost someone himself. Out of everyone on the team, Billy seemed the most closed off, surprising to Rick, even more so than Casey, when it had come to his past and yet, he was the most compassionate, perhaps because of whatever had happened in his past, though Rick didn't think he'd ever really know for sure. He didn't think that Billy would ever "regale" him as he had said he would. Still, just as he was easy with the charm, Billy was also quick to give comfort when it was necessary, to alleviate a tense situation with humor, and to put himself in harm's way at a moment's notice. Not that Casey wouldn't do that too, but Billy possessed less the rage channeling. He wanted more for Rick than just being another operative in "the Company".

Rick took first watch over Billy in the ICU. It seemed fitting since he had watched over Rick when he had been shot. He heard him stirring and got up from his chair to check on him.

Billy opened his eyes, not necessarily expecting anyone to be there. There had been many times when he had regained consciousness and had found himself alone or worse, imprisoned, but not this time. As his sight cleared, he saw the face of the youngest member of the ODS.

"You're going to be okay," Rick said.

Billy nodded tiredly.

"Go back to sleep. I've got your back."

Billy then smiled, knowing that was of strange comfort to him. Perhaps he would regale the lad with why he did the job. He somehow thought that Rick would understand. It was simple from Billy's vantage point. It was all about a love for team and country. He would do anything for those two things. In the end for Billy, it was all that mattered.

**FIN**


End file.
